FBI Wasn’t Investigating Skinny Dipping in Israel

A view of the Sea of Galilee along the Gospel Trail in northern Israel on April 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

By Devlin Barrett and Danny Yadron

A Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into New York Rep. Michael Grimm and his supporters led investigators to learn details of an incident on a 2011 congressional trip to Israel in which a different lawmaker went skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Politico reported Monday that several lawmakers went swimming – including Rep. Kevin Yoder (R., Kan.), sans clothing — after a long night of drinking, and that the FBI investigated the matter, though it did not specify what exactly the agency had examined.

“A year ago, my wife, Brooke, and I joined colleagues for dinner at the Sea of Galilee in Israel. After dinner I followed some Members of Congress in a spontaneous and very brief dive into the sea and regrettably I jumped into the water without a swimsuit,” Mr. Yoder, who represents the Kansas City area, said in a statement to Politico. His office referred reporters to the article. “It is my greatest honor to represent the people of Kansas in Congress and [for] any embarrassment I have caused for my colleagues and constituents, I apologize.”
Numerous congressional ethics-law experts interviewed Monday said the FBI does not care if lawmakers swim naked and that the investigation must be a matter under the agency’s jurisdiction. “Last time I checked, skinny dipping anywhere, including a foreign country, is not a federal crime,” said Jan Baran, head of the election law group at Wiley Rein LLP.

The person familiar with the investigation said the FBI came across details of the swimming incident while examining the Israel trip and a trip Rep. Grimm made afterward to Cyprus, but that the swimming incident wasn’t relevant to the probe.

Mr. Grimm’s lawyer, William McGinley, said Monday that he has no reason to believe Mr. Grimm was being investigated for his travel to Cyprus or Israel, both of which were cleared with House ethics officials before he left.

“For the second time in 48 hours, Congressman Grimm’s political opponents have tried unfairly to tie him to a news story that has nothing whatsoever to do with Congressman Grimm,’’ said Mr. McGinley.

Mr. Grimm, a freshman Republican representing part of New York City, is a former FBI agent. He has denied any wrongdoing, and has not been charged with any crime. A former fundraiser for Mr. Grimm was arrested last week on charges he lied on immigration documents.

The New York Times reported this month that Mr. Grimm had amended his financial disclosure report to show that after visiting Israel, he traveled to Cyprus and failed to file complete paperwork about the trip, sponsored by the Cyprus Federation of America. He has denied any wrongdoing on this matter.

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